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Tuesday, April 2, 2013
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Center of attention NIU sees large number of freshman applications
NIU to appoint its next leader Reception for new president set today By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com
Photos by Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Sarah Cole (left), 17, and her mother, Doris Cole, of Aurora look around the Northern Illinois University campus outside the Holmes Student Center in DeKalb during an open house visit Friday. Doris Cole is a NIU alumna.
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By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Northern Illinois University might have faced some controversy in the past year, but student interest has never been higher. More than 18,000 potential freshmen have applied to NIU for the 2013 fall semester – an 11 percent increase in the number of applications received at this time last year. The volume of applications is the most the university has ever received by this time. Marc Strauss, who serves on the NIU Board of Trustees, said it would be “extremely important” to convert as many of those applications as possible into enrolled students. He praised university staff for focusing on student recruitment and blocking out external factors. Strauss said outside factors whether good – such as the football team’s run to the Orange Bowl – or bad – such as the FBI sweep of university police records – should not affect NIU’s Vision 2020 Initiative goals. “We have to continue to do the best job we can with the things that are in our control,” Strauss said. “We have our Vision 2020
What Northern Illinois University enrollment target do you think is most important? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
Northern Illinois University representative Jonitiana Kelly (left) speaks with Dana Ingle and her stepson, Grayson Ingle (right), 17, of Springfield about housing arrangements on campus. target and we’d like to continue to make progress in that direction.” Vision 2020 aims to increase freshman enrollment from 2,800 to 3,393 students by 2020 while also increasing academic standards. The hope is to raise the average ACT score of incoming freshmen from 21 to 23 and have a higher percentage of students who finished in the top 25 percent of their high school class attend NIU. NIU spokesman Paul Palian said the goals are attainable if fac-
ulty and staff continue to execute the programs and strategies they already have implemented. Palian said more professors are involved with potential students in the recruitment process to make the experience more personalized, and events such as Transfer Tuesdays and Virtual Decision Day have made the application process easier. Virtual Decision Day guarantees applicants who participate an acceptance decision within an
hour. “The most important aspect of increasing applications is the strong collaborative effort across campus,” Palian said. “Professors are taking a more hands-on role.” Palian also said improvements to residence halls and the construction of an outdoor recreation sports complex make the living-learning environment more attractive. Cherilyn Murer, chairwoman for the NIU Board of Trustees, said the increase in applications shows the issues the university has faced in the past year have not caused the public’s faith in the university as a strong educational institution to waver. “Obviously, we’re delighted with this influx of interest in NIU,” Murer said. “I think this is reflective of the support and confidence that parents and students have in the quality of education being provided at NIU.”
DeKALB – You can meet Northern Illinois University’s next president today. University officials have not announced who the Board of Trustees is expected to hire as NIU’s 12th president at a special meeting. But all community members, faculty, staff and students are invited to a welcome ceremony immediately afterward. The new leader has been expected to start July 1; NIU President John Peters announced Oct. 12 that he will retire June 30. Peters, who was appointed president in June 2000, shepherded the university community through the John Peters aftermath of the 2008 campus shootings and into the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the highest possible Carnegie ranking for research universities. More recently, the university has weathered an FBI search of its police station, misconduct allegations against high-ranking officials, and an improper scrap metal recycling operation involving university-owned materials. The business meeting will be at 1 p.m. today in Room 315 of Altgeld Hall, while the reception will be in the auditorium. The ceremony will be from 1:45 to 3:30 p.m.; the new president’s remarks begin at 2 p.m. Altgeld Hall is located near the intersection of Castle Drive and College Avenue.
See NIU, page A6
If you go n What: Welcome reception for NIU’s new
president n When: 1:45 to 3:30 p.m today n Where: Altgeld Hall auditorium, near the intersection of Castle Drive and College Avenue
For more coverage Check www.Daily-Chronicle.com today for videos and updates on this story. Stories and photographs also will be in Wednesday’s print edition.
Lawyers negotiating possible plea deal in Curl murder trial By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – A plea agreement is being discussed for the DeKalb man accused of murder in the death of Northern Illinois University freshman Antinette “Toni” Keller, whose burned remains were found in a local park. With William “Billy” Curl’s trial date only a week away, lawyers are discussing a plea agreement for the 36-year-old man. If convicted of murdering the 18-year-old Plainfield
woman, he faces between 20 and 60 years in prison. Neither DeKalb County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack nor DeKalb County Public Defender Tom McCulloch would specify the terms of the potential agreeWilliam ment Monday night. “Billy” Curl Schmack refuted some Internet reports claiming a murder plea agreement of 32 years in prison had been reached. Schmack said
current discussions involved a stiffer sentence. Both Schmack and McCulloch confirmed that attorneys plan to meet in Presiding Judge Robbin Stuckert’s chambers today to discuss it. These special pretrial conferences, referred to by lawyers as “402 conferences,” typically discuss trial management and potential plea agreements. They do not guarantee an agreement will be finalized, but do allow the attorneys to discuss the charges, the evidence involved and potential sentences.
A judge can privately indicate whether they will concur with the proposed agreement before any action is taken in open court. Curl is accused of murder, concealing a homicidal death, arson and criminal sexual assault in connection with Keller’s death. Keller, an art student, was last seen Oct. 14, 2010, when she told friends she was going for a walk in Prairie Park to work on an art project. Her burned remains was found in the park two days later. Curl was indicted in January 2011 and is scheduled to stand trial
April 11. Prosecutors talked with Keller’s father about the plea negotiations Monday, Schmack said. Keller family spokeswoman Mary Tarling, Keller’s cousin, said the family preferred to wait until an agreement had been finalized to comment. Curl’s sister, Moria Curl, was unaware of the potential deal Monday night but maintained her brother’s innocence. “He has been completely innocent throughout this whole case,” she said.
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